Friday, December 20, 2013

ALWAYS YOU by MISSY JOHNSON

BLURB:

Dalton Reid

I was thrilled when I was offered a graduate teaching position at the prestigious Tennerson Girls Academy. At twenty-three, this would be my first ‘real’ teaching assignment. Working at the elite boarding school, home to the daughters of some of the wealthiest people in the world, was a great opportunity that I would’ve been stupid to pass up.

One week into my new job, and I suddenly had no idea why I chose high school…I was a seventeen year old boy once, I knew how teenage girls behaved.

You can’t even imagine the hell of trying to teach thirty, hormonal driven seventeen year olds who have been cooped up, away from any male contact.

I could handle the whispers every time I entered the room. I could even handle the obvious attempts at gaining my attention. What I couldn’t handle was her…

*

Rich bitches and way too many rules. Was it any wonder that I hated school?

Add to that the lack of male contact, and I was going insane. Like literally. I wasn’t used to this. A year ago I was normal. I had a boyfriend, friends and a loving family. There is nothing normal about me anymore, and nobody here lets me forget that.

My name is Wrenn, and I’m only here because my aunt took me in after what happened, but my aunt also happens to be the headmistress of this academy…Can you see my problem?

I’m hated for my lack of money, and I’m hated for who my Aunt is.

Then he arrived. Dalton Reid. My new history teacher.

Slowly, he helped me see that even in the worst situations, there is always hope.

My thoughts after reading...

At first I thought, this is gonna be one of those typical student-teacher love-affair. But as I progressed through, I realized I was wrong. It was more like...two souls that were meant to be together but was separated by time and circumstance.

Wrenn had a really horrible year. Her perfect life took a sharp 360... In a blink of an eye, she lost her parents and her brother---so basically she lost her whole life. She was uprooted from her life in California andcame to live with her Aunt, who was the headmistress of an exclusive all-girls high-school.

Dalton just graduated from college and armed with a teaching degree ... He took the temp-job for "stepping-stone" purposes. Of course, it also helped a lot that his mother is bestfriends with the school's headmistress.

As if teaching in a regular high school isn't difficult enough, what more teaching a bunch of spoiled-hormonal teenage girls?? Dalton seemed to find himself swimming in shark infested waters with a bloody open-wound. But of course, who could blame these girls? Dalton is the epitome' of a living-breathing greek God!

He got hit on more than he could count. The girls were relentless... they even had a bet on who would be the first to kiss Mr. Reid... So yeah... basically it started that way. Wrenn gave him a heads up about it..at first she just felt bad. But as the days went on, she finds herself crushing from afar... And after a couple of chance encounters, it only intensified the magnetic pull they have of each other.

Wrenn was willing to take a chance... but Dalton was reluctant. He doesn't do relationships. He's a wham-bam-thank-you-maam kind... He is deadset on not wanting to attach himself because he thought it would be futile. He is harboring a secret which made him that way...but... The heart is a stubborn organ... It always gets its way.

This is my favorite book of Missy's so far... So much emotion and internal anguish. You cant help but empathize with these characters... the story has relatable subject matters--like death of a loved-one, self-pity & self-esteem issues, bullying, dealing with taboos, overcoming fears...

Read more about Wrenn & Dalton and how they hurdled the obstacles that were thrown their way. This story showed me that what's meant to be, will always find its way... No matter how long the time it took.

For the fans of When You're Ready by JL Berg, Present Perfect by Alison Bailey and Forever Black by Sandi Lynn, this is one book you dont wanna miss out.